History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c29.10

v2.c29.10

During the short supremacy of Kulbarga as capital of the Dekhan (A.D. 1347-1428), it was adorned with several important buildings, among which was a mosque, one of the most remarkable of its class in India (Woodcuts Nos. 409, 410). Its dimensions are considerable, though not excessive: it measures 216 ft. east and west, and 170 ft. north and south, and consequently covers 36,720 sq. ft. Its great peculiarity, however, is that, alone of all the great mosques in India, the whole of the area is covered over as in the great mosque at Cordova. Comparing it, for instance, with the mosque at Mandû, which is the one in other respects most like it, it will be observed that the greater part of its area is occupied by a courtyard surrounded by arcades. At Kulbarga there is no court, the whole area of about 126 ft. by 100 ft. is roofed over by sixty-three small domes, and the light is admitted through the side walls, which are pierced with great arches for this purpose on all sides except the west, where is the masjid proper, 45 ft. in depth (Woodcut No. 408). The central area of the mosque is covered by a dome 40 ft. in diameter, raised on a clerestory, and the side areas by six small domes each, whilst on each end of the side corridors are domes of 25 ft. in width.